Type-writer carriage-return mechanism.



N. L. ANDERSDN.

TYPE WRITER OARRIAGE RETURN MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED DB6). 27, 1909.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

WHNESSES:

Mw ATTORNEYS ffi ll wlw mit may 1 v NEAL LABKIN ANDERSON, OF WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA TYPE-WRITER cannraennnrunn .MECHANISM.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

, Application filed December 27, i909.- Seria1 -No.535,080.

-Be it knownithatl, NEAL LARKIN ANDER- son, a e itizen' of the'United States, residing -;at Winston. Salem, in the county of Forsytli and of North Carolina, have-invented certainiknevir and useful Improvements. in

I Type-writerfilarriage-Return Mechanism;

I do hereby declare the following to be a full,a. olear,xand exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to typewriter carfriage-return mechanism of the class in which a carriage-return cord or band is connected'at one end to the typewriter carriage and at the other end to a winding drum or :pulleywhieh ist-urned ,by a suitable motor to wind the band onto the pulley and draw back-the carriage. A typewriter carriage-- return mechanism of this class is disclosed in my PatentNo.- 900,652 of October 6,1908. x The object of the invention is to increase the'smoothness and elasticity of the opera- ;tion ofvsuch mechanism, by reducing to a minimum the jar incident to the stopping of the carriage and the drag on the carriage t during itsforward movement; and to increase the efiiciency of the transmission of power from the operating motor to 'the car riage so that the size of the motor may be reduced, and" (in case a motor capable of use on either a direct or an alternating current circuit, such asthe motor of my-said patent, is employed) the rearrangement of circuit connections necessary in passing from direct to alternating current may be simplified. Q "In theoperation of such devlces it is necessary to provide some means for turning .the winding drum or pulley in a direction to wind up the band or cord when the car- .4 trated in my said patent, comprising a gear riage is returned by hand. This has heretofore been accomplished in a simple mechanical way by such a mechanism as is 111115- wheel mounted on a stub-shaft and meshing with a gear wheel onthe drum and having connected to it one end of a coiled spring the other end of which is fastened to the stationary frame of the machine, so that the turning of the drum or pulley during the advance movement of the carriage puts ,the,

springxunde'r torsion. This .mechanism is used ln'the said pat-entin conjunction witha {drum which -iS.-.: -normally freefmm the motor shaftbut is clutched thereto for the return movement of .the carriage. It is, however, as I have found in practice, preferable to connect the drum directly to the Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

shaft of, the motor and in that case the coiled spring might be connected at, one end to the side-of the drum and at the other-endto a stationary part of the frame of the inotor. as

I have found, however, that such a spring puts a drag on the carriage, and will interfete with the forward movement thereof,

p ng under the force of itspro Hing vwhich must be rather nice y ad usted -in practice, unless the drum ;;is. 'mad e large so that the sprin may be long-and light,- and even then the ag is not entirely. done away with. I This necessary increase, in the'size of the pulley is detrimental to the smooth operation of the machine because it applies the force of the motor through a, longer leverage, somewhat retarding the start of the carriage and adding to the jar when the carriage is brought .to rest. By the arrangement ofthe present'invention I am able to reduce the size of'the pulley'to a mi'nimumand entirelyrmov'e the drag on the forward movemefitgof thecar- 'riage, I acoomplishthis' by providing nor-. -mally inactive c'ord tightening mechanism for impart ing a turning effort automatically to the pulley iii-a direction to wind up the cord wheneverthe cord becomes slack ,'t-here by leaving thepulley entirely free to turn under theforward pull of the carriage without any drag.

In the particular embodiment of the invention which I prefer, and which is fully illustrated and described in the following specification, I employ an'electrical device for thus automatically winding up the'loo'se cord and utilize the propelling motor itself as asource of power from whichthe turning effort is derived. 1 1,1

In the drawings Figure 1 is a ,end elevation of'the motor casing and showsfthe car,- riage return cord and-a sheave-on the machine over which the cord runs, together with the carriagereturn keys andthe auto matic tightening device. Fig; 2 is a, side elevation ofthe'same parts-and Fig. 3 1s a diagram of the circuit connections:

.I-n thedra-wings' A is ,the casing of the propelling motor mounted ona base B which forms part of, or isattached,to t-he'base of the. machine. ,On theshaft a of the motor which projects through the endwall of tlre short" arm of the s is 'p y or drum-b eased to"- 't;.he" 1 1 O very small diI- shaft by'a setscrevv ametcrn- To this (if of the carriage-retu attached one end d d which runs over -a sheave e' on th 'typeivriter and has its other endfa stened to the spacing lever of the typewriter cafliagqe. The long and short line carriage-return eys-f and f control the circuitof the moto eturn the carriagewheneither of those 5 5' is depressed,

after themanlier set forth lily-said patent; All of these parts are like those shown in my said; atent' with the exceptionof the pulley Whi his mlieh Smallefi have shown conjv anismV-for. closingj ,cuit' of the motor whenever the cai riag turn cord becomes slack so that the motor willlbe energized to withthem a mechtighten'the'ilbld by winding'itup on thedrlim;

the'mecha'msmresponding to the'ti'ghtening of'rth cord seas to open and close the circuit of the motor-interm1ttently.- This mechan-' ism may obviously be embodied in many different'forms, and in the drawings-I have shown a convenient one comprising a bell-- crank lever g -pivoted on the casing of the motor near the bottom thereof and carrying. at'the u per. endof' its longer arm a roller hwhich l "3O les :1 ainst/the carriage-return cord betweenthe other arm ofthe amnesi in 'fixed'to the casing of the ms or isf'a'lig tsprin fwhich' tends to turn theqlever arm gand t erpller it against the c d. .The outer end of the z r ereum lever carries an electrical contact jlcotiperatl'ng w1th a fixed contact is on the motor casing, these contacts being a connected in shunt. to the contacts Z and Z sf-lever in the .--soon as the cord the carriage byhand for example, the spring i will turn the bell-crank lever on its pivot until the contacts and k touch one another to close the circuit 'of the motor, whereupon the shaft of the motorjwilliturn and with it the winding drum, separate feration will be re eated throughout the re-'- turn movement 0 the. carria 'rangement it ispossible drag ically keep the cord tight.

ley to a mmimum'wdiameter' and there is no at all on the 'forward movement of the carriage excepting the resistance of the armature 's'u '65 shaft which. is negligible,

here is no necessity for increasing the tens our the main sprlngof the carnage,

In the drawings I the carriage and at, the, other end to the pulley, o'f a cord-tightening device ithere- -i to wind up the cord and the contacts 7 and laffand this op:-

e to automatto reducejthe pul- I As are- -as described.

I eeaoss :jhehstarting'of the carriage is facilitated, h

err-iage atth e; end of'the return-move. n which shock wasespecially. manifest- Qn the spacmgilever of the carriage, is ret. ejshock incident to the stopping of ducedl In fact","I find that with thecha'nge i in the 'si ze'of the pulley the "power of'the motor is applied tomuch greater-advantage so that thereduction of the? resistance necessary in changlng from direct to alternating current is minimizedand the rearrangement It will be.-understood that the invention is not limited at all;to the specific mechanof the circuit connections may be correspondingly silnplified.'

icalembodiment oi the circuit-closing mechanism herein illustrated and described; and though it is convenient to use the propelling {motor ,as the source of the automatic turning'efiort applied to the drum when the cord slacks, et that is not essential tothe invention, W ich may find its embodiment in a, separate ower mechanism actuated by the slacking o the cord and adapted to turn thedrum.

What I claim is 1. The combination wlthacarriage-return .mechanism having a windin pulley and a carriage-return cord attache at one end to for comprising powermechanism adapted when-active to impart a turnin effort to.

.the' pulley in a direction to win the cord thereon, and-a controller responding to the v slackening of the cord to actuate said power mechanism, whereby the ower mechanism remains, mactlve during t e advance movement of-the carriage; substantially as de scribed.

I 2. The combination with a carriagereturn mechanism having a windin pulley and a carriage-return cord attach the carriage and at the other end to the pul'- ley, of a cord-tightening device therefor,

at one end to comprising electrical mechanism adapted when active to im art aturning efiort to the pulley in a directlon to wind the cord thereon, and a controller responding to the-slack ening of the cord to close the circuit ofisaid mechanism, whereby the said-=- chanism remains inactive during the ad-- t ance movement 'ofthe" carriage; .substantially as described.

In a typewriter carriage-return mech-' electrical anism, an electric, motor, a pulley secured Y to. the shaft ot the motor,,'and a carriage- I return cord attached at one "end to the pulley and at theo' hei' end to the typewriter carriage, in combination circuit-closing I mechanism-for the motor actuated upon the slackening of the cord, wh -the 'cord is automatically-wound on .th carriage is returned by ha .return cord attached at one end to the pulley and at the other end to the typewriter carnage, 1n comblnatlon wlth normally mactlve cord-tightening mechanism actuated, by the,

slacking of the cord when the carriage is re- I l l turned by hand, to Wind the cordon the pulley; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses;

ANDERSON. 

